1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lock assemblies for side mounted doors for vehicle cargo compartments and more particularly to a lock assembly for a side mounted door of a vehicle cargo compartment of the type having a pivotal handle connected to a moveable rod by a mechanical linkage which includes a protector positioned to prevent access to the linkage to protect the assembly from attack and to the structure of the protector.
2. Description of Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Vehicles, aircraft, truck trailers, ships, and the like, are used to transport valuable cargo within their containers from one destination to another. These transports secure the cargo within their containers, and the cargo is only accessible via a side mounted locking swing-out door. A variety of different locks for existing swing-out doors have been fashioned, but burglars have found simple ways to rob and tamper with these locks in order to steal valuable cargo.
One such lock is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,627,693 issued Jan. 14, 2014. That patent teaches an assembly for a vehicle cargo compartment having an opening defined by a door jamb, a cargo door adapted to close the opening, a rod linearly moveable to engage the door jamb and a handle or latch mountable to the rod. The assembly includes a housing having an inclined opening. The housing is mounted to the cargo door parallel the rod. A handle receiving part within the housing has an inclined opening adapted to align with the inclined opening of the housing for accepting the handle therein. The handle receiving part is responsive to movement of the handle within the housing between a locked and an unlocked position and engages the locking means when the handle receiving part is in the locked position.
In the above lock assembly, one end of the handle is connected to the rod by a mechanical linkage. The mechanical linkage includes a bracket and a pivot pin which permits the handle to pivot relative to the rod as the rod is moved linearly into and out of the opening in the door jamb to lock and unlock the door.
However, the mechanical linkage between the handle and rod is exposed when the handle is in the locked position. Thus, the lock assembly can be defeated by breaking and removing the pivot pin, allowing the rod to be disconnected from the handle and moved to its unlocked position such that the door can be opened and the cargo compartment accessed.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide side mounted vehicle door lock with a protector for the mechanical linkage connecting the handle and rod.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector for a side mounted vehicle door lock which includes a collar which surrounds the handle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector for a side mounted vehicle door lock which includes a cover part adapted to align with the mechanical linkage when the handle is received in the lock housing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which the cover member extends from the collar such that it prevents access to the mechanical linkage when the collar is received on the handle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which the cover member extends from a wall of the collar.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which the cover member includes a section which extends in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the collar wall from which it extends but is offset from of that plane to accommodate the additional thickness of the mechanical linkage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which a section of the cover member is curved.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which the cover member and the collar are integral.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which the cover member and the collar are formed of metal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protector of a side mounted vehicle door lock in which the cover member and the collar are formed of high-strength steel.